The owner of a derelict Kirkwall building has taken his fight to demolish it to the Scottish Government – after historians blocked plans to knock it down.
Number 1 King Street sits at the corner of King Street and Laing Street in the Orkney capital.
Earlier this year, developer Lyall Harray asked for permission to demolish the crumbling house and build two detached homes on the site.
He said: “It has been an unsightly eyesore in the centre of Kirkwall for over 50 years and is long overdue demolition.”
Mr Lyall’s agent, SJ Omand Chartered Surveyors, argued there’s “no public benefit” in keeping the dilapidated building standing.
They even claimed an extension added to the back of the building is “in dangerous condition.”
Another letter, from company AR Structural Design, argued there are subsidence issues with one of the original walls.
So why refuse permission to knock it down?
The property is thought to be from the mid-19th century but has been altered several times.
As it stands, it has a rear extension with what Historic Environment Scotland (HES) describes as an “agricultural appearance”
Much of this extension is characterised by corrugated metal and concrete blocks.
However, Orkney Islands Council denied the application to flatten it.
Since the building is in Kirkwall’s “conservation area”, it comes with some extra protection…
In their responses to the application, council officers and HES said there wasn’t enough evidence that other options for the building were considered.
They recommended that an assessment should be done showing whether or not it was possible to repair it at a reasonable cost.
The proposed replacement buildings were also found to be “unacceptable” in design and layout by the council.
Building ‘positively contributes’ to Kirkwall conservation area says HES
And, the demolition was seen as having an “unacceptable impact” on the conservation area’s “character and appearance”.
In their objection, HES said the current building “positively contributes” to Kirkwall’s conservation area.
The quango argued that, having looked at photos provided by the applicant’s agents, they couldn’t see any evidence of damage to the walls caused by subsidence.
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What is developer doing now?
Since the refusal, Mr Harray has appealed the council’s decision to the Scottish Government.
In correspondence with the Scottish Government, his agent explains the lack of assessment of the cost of repairing the “ruinous” building.
SJ Omand states this wasn’t done due to cost and also “no local builder would be willing to price such hypothetical work”.
The Chartered Surveyor also takes “serious issue” with HES’s response on the subsidence issue – saying it questions the credentials of the companies involved in the assessment.
The company also claims that – while it wasn’t documented – passing members of the public had “volunteered the opinion” that the building “is not worthy of retention, is unsightly, and a blot on the landscape”.
A site inspection is planned for September 11, with both the council and applicant attending.
Its future will be decided by Holyrood officials after that.
You can see the appeal to demolish the derelict Kirkwall house here.
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